Stoke City have confirmed their signing of former Town skipper Jon Walters on a four-year deal and have revealed that the fee is £2.75 million rising to £3.25 million on appearances. The Potters were initially linked with a move for the 26-year-old two years ago.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis said: "I have been looking to bring more goals to the squad and Jon certainly fits that bill.

"He has been one of the outstanding performers in the Championship over the past three years and I am confident the lad can make the same sort of impact in the Premier League now that he has been given this opportunity.

"The fact that he is versatile will increase competition for places in the squad which is something we have been looking to achieve."

Walters says he is delighted to make the switch: "It's always good to know that a manager has that faith in your ability and that was certainly an influence on my decision to come here.

"I am excited about moving here and it is the fulfilment of a long term goal of mine to get back into the Premier League.

"I had a sniff of it in my time at Bolton, but I knew that in dropping down the leagues, it would take a lot of hard work to get back there one day.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ipswich, especially being the captain of the club, but this was the opportunity I had been working towards and I'm glad it's come at a club like Stoke."

Town chief executive Simon Clegg paid tribute to Walters's time at Portman Road: “I would like to thank Jon for the hard work, commitment and professionalism he has shown on the pitch during his career at Portman Road.

“Recognising that every player’s dream is to play in the Premier League we are delighted that Jon has achieved this goal and we wish him every success at his new club.

“I am sure our supporters will see that this is very good business for the club, one of the most significant transfer deals in the club’s history, and will join us in sending their best wishes to Jon for his future career.”

On Friday, QPR made a bid for Walters but the former Republic of Ireland B international, who comes from Birkenhead, has long been understood to want a move back to the north.

Photo: Action Images

BlueJewells added 21:10 - Aug 18 sing chopra now!!!!!!!!
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arc123 added 21:15 - Aug 18 wooley hatted liberal, i think Beattie has played about 100 games for Rangers by now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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BlueArmy01 added 21:21 - Aug 18 Am i Alone in thinking use the money to pay off Keane ...............then we can really start
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titanicclown added 21:21 - Aug 18 Well done Jim
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FarringdonBlue added 21:26 - Aug 18 BlueArmy01 - yep, think you're pretty much alone on that one! Good business for us though!
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Dale added 21:32 - Aug 18 Good luck Jon.
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BlueArmy01 added 21:38 - Aug 18 Farringdon blue I guess you think Keane's brand of football is worth the admission price, but I guess when mum and Dad are still paying.............
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WREXHAM_BLUE added 21:40 - Aug 18 Good luck Jon. Disappointing that everything ended on a somewhat sour note but all the best for the future. Good business in terms of the transfer fee; let's hope we can spend it wisely (assuming we CAN spend it!).
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BerkshireBlue added 21:50 - Aug 18 Shame about the way he went getting his transfer but there shouldn't be any malice as he was of the few players in recent years who always gave 100%, even when he wasn't playing too well. A good price for someone who wasn't on top of his game for the best part of two seasons - I wish him well for the future.
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SonOfSpock added 22:06 - Aug 18 From a purely business perspective, this is a great deal for us. Lets hope we bring in 3 or 4 players now to push on.
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MickMillsTash added 22:14 - Aug 18 This guy has played right mid, left mid and centre forward over the last 2 years. He has never had a regular full back to partner with - in a pretty awful side that he and us have to put up with. In all the games I have seen him play he has given his all and worked unbelievably hard. I am only surprised that he has not spat his dummy out before now- especially when playing alongisde that pillock Counago. I think given a regular position in a Stoke team that is well organised and settled he will do really well- it will take more than 3 mill to replace him

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blueblood66 added 22:42 - Aug 18 great price, not worth £1m let alone 3!
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Trimleytractor added 22:49 - Aug 18 I wonder if Stoke watched him play during the past couple of seasons? He'll have to get his head on a lot of Rory Delap's throw-ins to justify the sort of cash Stoke have inexplicably parted with. Now stop messing about and get Chopra please.
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GermanTractorBoy added 06:59 - Aug 19 Good luck, Jon! You were my favourite player!
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zippyrainbow added 14:05 - Aug 19 Good riddance. Anybody who doesn't want to play for Ipswich is perfectly entitled to F#uck off.
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SiBo added 14:35 - Aug 19 zippyrainbow: harsh.... but fair :)
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lucytown added 14:49 - Aug 19 Good luck Jon - hope you will be happy at y
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lucytown added 14:50 - Aug 19 Good luck Jon - hope you will be happy at your new club
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B__Ave added 18:17 - Aug 20 Not sure what Clegg meant, but a great bit of business by the club considering Walters hasn't been at his best these last 2 seasons & where we finished last season. Hopefully we'll use the money to bring in the attacking players we need...
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